Couch-bed.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

D. FRANK.

CUGH BED., APPLIO'ATION FILED JAN. 27. 1903.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTO s ITN ESSES ZL v " ATTORNEY PATENTBD MAY ze, 1903.'

D.P`RANK. vcoUcH BED.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 27, 1903.

Z SHEETS-SHEET I No Monm..

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ATTORNEY Vcurely supporting said side sections intheir UNITED STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID FRANK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO- JOHN TROUNSTINE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

coUcH-BEU.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,320, 'dated May 26, 1903.

Application filed January 27,1903.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID FRANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Couch-Beds, of `which theE followingis a specification Y The invention relates to improvements in couch-beds; and it consists in the novel features and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims. y

Couch-beds of the character to which my invention pertains comprise almain body portion and hinged side sections, which when desired may be turned outwardly'and upwardly into alinement with the upper surface or' said body portion, so as Ato form a bed of adequate dimensions; and my invention pertains more vespecially to suitablemechansm for maintaining saidsectio'ns in their horizontal position, the said mechanism firmly and se-v horizontal position and conveniently enabling the lowering o f said sections from the end of the bed. The bed is also equipped with suit` able means for elevating the side sections of the bed by the pressure of the foot; but this latter mechanism .may or may not be employed,as vmay be desired. In its'preferred e form the bed is equipped with meansfor elevating the side section or sections byf the pressure of the foot of the attendant and alsov with means for enabling t'he'lowe'ringof thef side section or sections' by the pressure of the: foot 'acting tounlock the mechanism for-sup porting'the said section' or sections in a hori zontal position and enabling vsaid section or sections of their 'ownweight to" turn downwardly against the sides of the bed.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had lto the'accompanying drawings,.inwhich'- Y .f

Figure 1 is a top View, partly broken away and partly in section, of a couch-bed constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention, the hinged section at one side of the bed being shown in its upper horizontal position, while the like section at the other side of the bed is illustrated in its vertical Serial N0.140,'798. (No model.)

position folded down against the side of the bed. Fig. 2 is an end View, partly broken away, of same; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of one end of the bed. y

In the drawings, 10 denotes-the customary angle-iron end rails of the bedgll, suitable side bars or. rods connecting said end rails; 12, the hinged side sections 'connected with the ends of said end rails l0; 13, the customary spring-mattress, secured to the end rails lOqand end rails 14 of the said hinged sections 12, and 15 suitable supporting-legs, upon which the entire structure is mounted. The hinged sections 12 are formed of the end angle-iron bars 14, whose inner ends are connected to the ends of the end rails 10 by means of bolts 16, and of the longitudinal rods 17,

-which connect the outer ends of the end rails 14, said end rails 14 and rods 17 constituting an open skeleton frame hinged to the body portion of the bed and adapted to be-raised andlowered at will.

My invention pertains to the means for maintaining the hinged sections 12 in a horizontal position and for enabling the convenient elevation and lowering ofrsaid sections, and the features comprising my invention are more clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

The means for maintaining the hinged sections 12 in their horizontal position comprise at each end of the hinged section 12 the arms 18 19, pivotally connected together by means of a pin or bolt 20 and respectivelyhaving Vadjacent to their *overlappingY endportions" f theinterlockin'g.-projection'and notch. 21 22, -thelower end ofy ther-arm 18, Fig. 2, having the laterallylprojecting portion 21,` adapted, when the arms 18 19 attain the'position in which they are shown in Fig. 2, to engage the notch 22 in the upper portionof the arm 19 and lock said arms againstkfurther movement in anr'outward or downward direction. The upper end of the arm 18 is pivotally -secured to the end rail 14 ofthe hinged'section 12,

and the lower portion of the arm 19 is pivotally secured to the adjacent leg 15, and the arm 19 at one end of the hinged section v12 is connected with a like arm at the other end of said section by means 'of the rod 28, which will preferably be equipped withy the weights 24, the latter being provided to increase the IOO weight of said rod 23 and cause the latter' to more effectually perform its duties without said rod being of undue diameter throughout. The lower or inner ends 25 ot the arms 19 project inwardly beyond the vertical edges of the legs 15 and form treadles adapted to receive the pressure of the foot of the attendant when it is desired to move the arms 18 19 into an unlocked position for the purpose of permitting the hinged section 12 to lower to its vertical position. When the hinged section 12 is in its vertical position, the arms 18 19 will fold upon one another in the position in which they are illustrated by dotted lines at the left-hand end of Fig. 2, and when in ,this position said arms are out of the way and perform no special duty. When the hinged section 12 is turned upwardly, the arms 18 19 will turn outwardly and downwardly and finally reach the position in which they are shown by solid lines in Fig. 2, in which position it will be seen that the said arms describe the arc of a circle and aord effectual means for maintaining the said section in its horizontal position. During the upward movement of the hinged section 12 the arms 18 19 gradually attain the position in which they are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the hinged section 12 will primarily be turned upwardly a little above the horizontal plane of the main body of the bed, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the pivotal point 20 of the arms 18 19 may under the innence ofthe weight of said arms, supplemented by the weight of the rod 23 and weights 24, pass outwardly and downwardly beyond a center line through the pivots securing said arms to the end rails 14 and legs 15, respectively, and reach the position indicated by solid lines at the right-hand endof Fig. 2, in which position the arms 18 19 will be arrested and maintained against such weight as may be applied upon the section 12 by the engagement of the projection 21 on the arm 18 with the notch 22 in the arm 19.

When it is desired to lower the hinged section 12, the attendant will by pressing with the foot upon the treadle end 25 of the arm 19 at one end of the bed cause a reversal of the movement of the arms 18 19 from the position in which they are shown by solid lines at the right-hand end of Fig. 2 to the position in which they are shown by dotted lines until the pivot-point 2O of said arms has passed a central line through the pivots securing the arms to the end rail 14 and leg 15, at which time the weight of the section 12 will cause the latter to automatically turn downwardly into its vertical position (shown at the left-hand end of Fig. 2) and cause the arms 18 19 to fold upwardly to their former initial position. When pressure is applied to the treadle end 25 of an arm 19 at one end of the bed, the effect thereof will be communicated through the rod 23 to the arm 19 at the other end of the bed, and hence the arms 18 19 may be moved to permit the section 12 to descend by pressure applied to the treadle 25 at one end of the bed. During the elevation of the hinged section 12 the rod 23 and weights 24 effect the simultaneous movement of the arms 18 19 at both ends of the bed from the position in which said arms are illustrated by dotted lines at the right-hand end of Fig. 2 to the position in which they are illustrated by full lines, the weight of the rod 23 and weights 24 assuring the due outward and downward movement of the meeting ends of said arms.

The hinged section 12 at either side of the bed may be elevated by hand and thereafter when desired permitted to automatically lower by the pressure of the foot upon the treadle 25; butifitshould be desired to elevate the hinged section 12 by foot-pressure this may be accomplished by means of the crank-arm 26 and suspended stirrup 27, the latter being pivotally connected with one end of the crankarm 26, while the other end of said arm has a rigid connection with the end rail 14 of the hinged section 12. In the present instance I form the crank-arm 26 at each end of the bed integrally with the bolt 16, by which the end rails 14 are connected with the end rails 10 of the main body of the bed, and upon the bolts 16 at their inner ends are applied bars 28, which are riveted to the end rails 14 and are rigid with the bolts 16, the latter at their outer ends being square in cross-section, as at 40, and entering square apertures in the bars 28. W'hen the hinged section 12 is in its vertical position, as shown at the left-hand end of Fig. 2, the attendant desiring to elevate said section will introduce his foot into the stirrup 27 and press downwardly upon said stirrup, and this will have the effect of pulling downwardly on the crank-arm 26 and turning the section 12 outwardly and upwardly to the position in which it is shown by dotted lines at the right-hand end of Fig. 2, upon attaining which the weight of the arms 18 19, supplemented by the weight of the rod 23, will cause said arms to move outwardly and downwardly into the position in which they are shown by solid lines at the right-hand end of Fig. 2, the said arms being then enabled to maintain the said section 12 in its horizontal position.

In the preferred form of the bed there are therefore comprised means by which under foot-pressure the hinged sections 12 may be elevated and also means by which under foot-pressure the arms 18 19 may be moved to permit the hinged sections 12 to automatically descend.

The mechanismsl above described for elevating the sections 12 and for maintaining said sections in their horizontal position are provided at both ends of the bed and for both sections l2, and hence said sections may each be independently operated from either end of the bed, although it is obvious, of course, that it" desired the means for elevating the sections 12 and the treadles 25 for enabling the lower- IOO IKO

nected bya suitable longitudinal rod 30, hav-- ing bifurcated end portions 3l.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

1. The couch-bed comprising the main body lportion having the legs, and the hinged side section secured to said body portion, combined with the arms 18, 19, at each end of the bed, pivotally secured together at their meeting ends and at their other ends respectively pivotally secured to said section and legs, a rod connecting the pair of arms at one end of the bed with the like arms at the other eind thereof, and the treadle on the arm 19 for moving said pairs of arms into a position to enable said section to turn downward, said arms at their meeting ends respectively having a projection and notch to interlock and maintain said arms in their supporting position; substantially as set forth.

2. The couch-bed comprising the main body portion having the legs, and the hinged side section secured to said body portion, combined with the outwardly-curved arms 18, 19, at each end of thebed, pivotally secured together at their meeting ends and at their other ends respectively pivotally secured to said section and legs, a rod connecting the 'pair of arms at one end of the bed with the like arms at the other end thereof, means adjacent to the meeting ends of said arms for arresting them in their` supporting position, and the treadle on the arm 19 for moving said pairs of arms into a position to enable said section to turn downward substantially as set forth.

3. The couch-bed'comprising the main body portion having the legs, and the hinged side section secured to said body portion, combined with the arms 18, 19, at each end of the b ed, pivotally secured together at their meeting ends and at their other ends respectively pivotally secured to said section and legs, the rod 23 connecting the pair of arms at one end of the bed with the like arms at the other end thereof and secured to said arms intermediate said legs and section, means for arresting said arms in their supporting position, and the treadle on the arm 19 for moving said pairs of arms into a position to enable said section to turn downward; substantially as set forth.

4. The couch-bed comprising the main body portion having the legs, the hinged side section 12, the bolt 16 hinging said section to said body portion, means rigidly connecting one end of said bolt with said section, the crank-arm 26 connected with the said bolt, and the suspended stirrup connected with the outer end of said crank-arm, for elevating said section by foot-pressure, combined with means for maintaining said section in its horizontal position when the same has been elevated; substantially as set forth.

5. The couch-bedcomprisingthe mainbody portion having the legs, the hinged side section 12, the bolt 16 hinging said section to said body portion, means rigidly connecting one end of said bolt with said section, the crank-arm 26 connected with the said bolt, and the suspended stirrup connected with the outer end of said crank-arm, for elevating said section by foot-pressure, combined with the pair of pivoted arms at each end of vthe bed for maintaining said section in its horizon tal position, means for compelling said arms to simultaneously move to their supporting position when the said section is elevated, and a foot-treadle for reversing the movement of said arms When it is desired that said section shall turn downwardly; substantially as set forth.

Signed at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, this 24th day of J anuary, A. D. 1903. v y

DAVID FRANK.

Witnesses:

EDWIN L. REED, OTTO LIES. 

